About The Book

Authors, Ann Todd Jealous and Caroline Haskell collaborated to facilitate the beginning of a conversation that encourages self-examination and compassion to look at how white Americans have been hurt by the very ideology that their ancestors created.

Genesis of Combined Destinies

When Ann returned from her 50th high school reunion, she decided to act on a long-standing thought: that an anthology of stories about the impact of racism on the lives of white children, women, and men could make an important contribution to the literature of anti-oppression work and to individual and societal healing.

Authors’ Experience

Editors Ann Todd Jealous and Caroline T. Haskell, both experienced psychotherapists skilled at facilitating dialogue about racial issues, are cognizant of the challenges that even the thought of such conversations often presents. Combined Destinies is based on the premise that for positive and lasting change to occur, it is necessary to open hearts as well as minds.

Unearned Privilege

This courageous anthology posits that unearned privilege has damaged the psyche of white people as well as their capacity to understand racism. Using intimate stories, some from writers who have never before spoken of these highly charged issues, Jealous and Haskell offer readers a chance to explore their own experiences.

Themes Explored

The book is organized thematically, with individual chapters that focus on, for example, guilt, shame, or silence. Anyone who is interested in mental health and spiritual healing would benefit from reading this book, but it’s especially suitable for teachers, professors, students, social activists, members of community groups, therapists, clergy, and other members of the counseling profession.